Keeping up with the anime vanguards meta units is basically a full-time job if you're trying to push through the hardest stages or top the leaderboards. The game moves fast, and what worked last week might feel like a wet noodle today once you hit the higher-tier raids or those brutal nightmare modes. If you've been grinding for gems and aren't sure where to dump them, you really need to know which units actually hold their weight when the waves get chaotic.
Let's be real for a second: not every Secret or Mythic unit is actually "meta." We've all seen those flashy units that look amazing but fall off the moment you hit wave 30. To truly dominate, you need a balance of raw damage, reliable crowd control, and, most importantly, a solid economy to pay for those pricey upgrades.
The Heavy Hitters: Raw Damage Meta
When we talk about the absolute top-tier DPS in the current meta, a few names always bubble to the top. Right now, it's hard to have a conversation about power without mentioning Vogis (inspired by Sung Jinwoo). He's an absolute monster. What makes him a staple in the meta isn't just his base damage, but his ability to summon shadows. Having extra units on the path that don't take up your placement slots is basically cheating—in a good way. He scales incredibly well into the late game, and if you manage to roll a good trait on him, he can solo carry a lot of content that would otherwise be a nightmare.
Then you've got Noctas (Alucard). If you're looking for sheer reliability and high-speed attacks, he's your guy. He's one of those units that feels "expensive" to fully max out during a match, but the payoff is massive. His range is respectable, and his bleed damage (or life-steal mechanics, depending on the update tweaks) keeps him relevant even against bosses with massive HP pools.
Don't sleep on Song I-Gue (Igris) either. While some people prefer the summons of Vogis, I-Gue provides that consistent, high-pressure front-line damage that stops enemies from even getting past the first corner. He's a core part of any "speedrun" meta because he just deletes waves before they have a chance to breathe.
You Can't Win Without the Money Makers
It doesn't matter if you have the strongest anime vanguards meta units in your inventory if you can't afford to place them. This is where the "Economy" units come in, and frankly, they're the most important units in the game.
Fortune (Bulma) is the undisputed queen of the meta right now. If you aren't bringing a farm unit to a long-form match, you're basically throwing. The way the cost-to-output ratio works in Anime Vanguards means that the final upgrades for Mythic units are ridiculously expensive. Without Bulma pumping out extra cash every wave, you'll be stuck with half-leveled units while the enemies just walk right past you.
Some players try to get by with just one farm unit, but in the current high-end meta, people are even experimenting with double-money setups for raids. If you get a "Tax Collector" or "Wealthy" trait on your Bulma, it's a total game-changer. It allows you to get your heavy hitters on the field five or six waves earlier than usual, which is often the difference between a win and a wipe.
Controlling the Chaos: Support and CC
Damage is great, but speed is the enemy. Once you hit the later stages of a map, enemies start moving way too fast for your DPS to keep up. That's why crowd control (CC) units are a mandatory part of the meta.
Rukia (or her in-game equivalent) is a prime example. Her freeze mechanic is legendary. Being able to completely stop a boss in its tracks for a few seconds gives your Vogis or Noctas enough time to cycle through their high-damage animations. Without a dedicated slower or stunner, you're going to find yourself leaking fast enemies constantly.
Another one to watch is Mo-Ce (Mochi/Katarkuri). His ability to slow down entire clusters of enemies is invaluable. He's not just there to do damage; he's there to buy time. In the current meta, "stalling" is a legitimate strategy. If you can keep the enemies in the kill zone for 20% longer, that's 20% more damage your main units are dealing for free.
The Role of Traits and Stats
You can have the best unit in the game, but if it has a "trash" trait, it's not truly a meta unit yet. The trait system is what separates the casual players from the ones topping the global ranks.
For your main DPS units, you're hunting for Monarch, Godly, or Solar. These traits provide massive stat boosts that can double your effective damage. A Vogis with a "Monarch" trait is an entirely different beast compared to a base-level one. It's frustrating to roll for these, sure, but if you want to stay within the meta, it's a grind you have to embrace.
For support units, you're looking for things like Swift (to proc freezes faster) or Range boosts. It's all about utility. If your CC unit can't hit the enemies because their range is too small, they aren't doing their job.
Building a Balanced Team
The biggest mistake I see people make is just loading their team with six Mythic DPS units. It looks cool on the loading screen, but it's a terrible way to play. A true meta team is a puzzle. You need:
- A Starter Unit: Someone cheap like Norimaki (Arale) or a fast-attacking Epic unit to handle the first five waves while you set up your economy.
- The Money Maker: Bulma. No excuses.
- The Main Carry: Your Vogis or Noctas. This is the unit you dump all your gold into first.
- The Support/CC: Someone to freeze or slow.
- The Buffer: Units that can increase the damage of nearby allies.
- The Flex Slot: Usually another high-tier DPS or a secondary CC depending on the map.
If you follow that template, you'll find that the "impossible" stages suddenly become a whole lot more manageable. The meta isn't just about owning the rarest units; it's about making them work together so you don't run out of cash or get overwhelmed by a single fast enemy.
Final Thoughts on the Current State of Play
The anime vanguards meta units will always shift. Developers love to tweak numbers, and new banners will inevitably bring power creep that makes our current favorites look like yesterday's news. But the core principles stay the same: economy is king, CC saves lives, and raw DPS wins boss fights.
Don't feel like you have to have every single Secret unit to enjoy the game. A well-built team of high-tier Mythics with the right traits will outperform a messy team of "rare" units any day of the week. Focus on getting a solid Bulma, hunt for a top-tier carry like Vogis, and make sure you've got someone to slow things down when the heat gets turned up.
At the end of the day, the meta is a tool to help you clear content. Don't get so caught up in the "perfect" build that you forget to actually play the game. Grab your favorite units, roll for some decent traits, and start climbing those leaderboards!